Pandora Company
by Sir Jid
Summary: An episodical story about the adventures of Pandora Company during the Reaper Wars. A backstory for the ME3 multiplayer characters. Almost entirely OC's, any canon characters will likely be cameos. Episode 1.5: Kepesh-Yakshi: Gerrit gets to know Pandora Company en route to the Citadel.
1. Episode 1: Huskfall part 1: Brawl

Episode 1: Huskfall

Gerrit's colony is attacked, and he must work with a company of mercenaries in order to escape.

* * *

><p>Gerrit knew he shouldn't have taken this route home. It was a stupid mistake, and one that he should have been able to avoid after two years here, especially given his hobbies. Yet here he was. And there they were, two hulking brutes who wouldn't have looked out of place among krogan, blocking the way to the main road.<p>

"I'm surprised at you, Pajon," a gravelly voice drifted from behind Gerrit. He turned to see a turian standing there, arms folded, two more prodigiously muscled thugs flanking him. "You're usually more alert than this."

"Terrek." Gerrit subtly shifted his weight into a better fighting stance. "I haven't seen you in awhile."

The turian smirked. "I've been busy. Expanding business."

That surprised Gerrit. "Expanding? I hadn't realized you were doing so well."

One of the thugs grunted a laugh. "You ain't so big as you think you are, lizard-man."

Terrek silenced him with a sharp look before returning his gaze to Gerrit. "Uncivilized though my associate is, he is correct. Despite your activities, the Khans still prosper." He cocked his head in mock-thoughtfulness. "Although, it would be easier if you were no longer a factor."

Gerrit had not failed to notice the pistol on the turian's hip, nor the veritable armory carried by each of the brutes. "I have no doubt."

"In fact," Terrek continued, his eyes glinting, "if, say, your body was found in an alley, beaten in by some nameless lowlifes," he gestured casually to the brute on his right, "It would be quite the boon for business."

Gerrit sighed. "Are we going to kill each other or just talk all night?"

The turain laughed. "See, this is why I like you, Pajon. Always so ready to die." He straightened his face and looked at Gerrit. "Well, I suppose there's no point delaying it."

"Good." Before the turian had finished his sentence, Gerrit leapt backwards and rolledbetween the two thugs there, pulling the leg from beneath one as he did so. The man fell hard, sending his companion stumbling as he did so. Gerrit righted himself and aided the stumbling man into the wall, denting the weak prefab structure with the thug's head. Gerrit pulled a pistol from the man's belt as he fell past and planted a round in the back of the first thug's head.

Shots roared down the alley at him from the turian and his lackeys, forcing Gerrit to duck around the corner of the building. Glancing around, Gerrit noticed an overhang to his left and leapt up onto it before climbing up on the roof.

"Get him!" Terrek's voice carried easily over the side of the building. Gerrit paused. On the one hand, it would be easy for him to leave. The thugs weren't bright enough to figure out where he was, and he could be gone before the turian did. They wouldn't attack him in his home; that would force the authorities to act. Otherwise, he would have been dead long ago. On the other hand, though, Terrek said the Khans were expanding. That couldn't be good. And here was the head of a very big snake, and it was within his power to cut it off.

Damnit. Killing Terrek wouldn't bring down the Khans, not by a long shot, but it would cripple their expansion. He had to go for it.

The drell crept slowly along the edge of the roof, looking down at the three Khans.

He could hear Terrek muttering as the two thugs looked up and down the street, weapons drawn."Should have gotten backup. Knew he was slippery. Damn. This is going to look bad."

Gerrit focused intently, letting energy build up inside himself. He suddenly lurched forward two dozen yards into the backs of the three, the biotic shockwave sending them reeling. Gerrit raised the pistol, easily finishing one of the brutes. The other recovered quickly and, instead of shooting as Gerrit expected, lunged at the drell, crashing into him. Gerrit stumbled now as Terrek and his thug turned to face him.

Not good. Gerrit hastily threw up a biotic push, giving him enough time to right himself, when he noticed that he had dropped the pistol. That was stupid. He was supposed to be a professional, for Kalahira's sake.

Gerrit lunged at the thug as Terrek brought his pistol to bear. Gerrit grabbed the thug's arm and twisted, bringing him between the drell and the turan just as Terrek fired. The thug cried out, the bullet passing though his shoulder and inches from Gerrit's face, spraying the human's red blood over him. Gerrit spun, releasing the thug as he did so, sending him into the turian's extended gun arm. The turian cried out as several hundred pounds of muscle and weapon fell upon him, dropping his piston and staggering back under the weight.

Gerrit leapt upon the startled turian, flipping him over and throwing him into the ground several yards away before kneeling down and carefully snapping the thug's neck. Finished, Gerrit stood and advanced on the turian, who had not yet regained his feet. To his credit, though, Terrek showed no fear. Quite the opposite, actually.

"Hey, Pajon. Catch!" a small blue object left the turian's hand and caught on the drell's coat. Eyes widening in recognition, Gerrit tore the garment off and tossed it aside, diving in the other direction just before the sticky grenade exploded.

Gerrit's vision jiggled slightly as the explosion thrust him to the ground face first. He felt it split open on his left cheek as he came down hard. His left hand came down under his body, ending up bending roughly the opposite direction it should be. He tried to rise immediately, but with still-ringing ears and still-blurry vision, he only managed to extricate his pained arm before collapsing back to the ground. He closed his eyes, spending a few seconds to focus, before trying again. He managed to get to his knees before he was shoved roughly back to the ground.

Terrek stood over him, a black club raised in his talon-like hand. "Nice move. Didn't think you'd manage to survive that." He placed a foot on Gerrit's chest and leaned heavily on it. "You lost your nice coat, though."

Gerrit tried to raise both arms to grasp the foot compressing his lungs, but gasped as pain shot up from his left arm. It didn't feel broken, but he definitely couldn't use it.

Terrek laughed. "I guess you aren't so big. Right, Kemp?" The turian turned to the remnants of the thugs, whose bodies had been caught in the explosion. "Ah well. Not worth much anyway."

Grimacing, Gerrit used his momentary distraction to twist his lower body, hooking one leg around the turian's and pulling him slightly off-balance. At the same time, he powered up a throw in his right arm, sending it at the precarious turian. Terrek was thrown up and onto his back, his club arcing out of sight down the street. Gerrit rose slowly to his feet and stumbled over to where Terrek had dropped his gun earlier, picking it up. As Terrek groggily lifted his head, Gerrit put a bullet through it. He dropped the pistol and walked off into the night.


	2. Episode 1: Huskfall part 2: Invasion

Episode 1: Huskfall

Gerrit's colony is attacked, and he must work with a company of mercenaries in order to escape.

* * *

><p>Face bloodied, his arm undoubtedly sprained, an altogether sorry-looking Gerrit Pajorn dragged himself across the threshold of a small two-room prefab, stopping at a cabinet and opening it, searching for something to heal his wounds.<p>

Whiskey. That's the ticket.

He slumped into the comfortable sofa, taking a swig directly from the bottle of Burskin '92. He paused a moment as he lowered the bottle from his lips, noting the greenish smear its neck, and began to raise his left arm to the cut running from his lip to under his left eye, but winced as he remembered the pain.

Okay then. Maybe whiskey wasn't all he needed.

With a slight groan, the drell rose again from the sofa, depositing the suspiciously light bottle on an end table. He stumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the light, looking over his face in the mirror. It would certainly be tender in the morning, but only that cut needed attention. On his face, at least. He opened the medicine cabinet, drawing out some of his precious medi-gel supply, and began to thoroughly examine himself for injuries.

Half an hour later, slightly intoxicated with the potent medi-gel and whiskey combination, the drell returned to his spot on the sofa, silently cursing the empty bottle beside him. Assuming that sleep was an unlikely option, he pulled a remote from between two cushions and turned on the news with the hope that it would bore him unconscious. Within minutes, he was asleep on the sofa.

* * *

><p>A persistent thumping reverberated through the small structure. Gerrit blinked his eyes open. There was still only starlight coming in through the skylight above, but someone was at the door. The drell was slowly rising to his feet, flexing his newly-healed arm as he did so, when what was unmistakably an explosion shook the prefab. The drell immediately crouched into a ready position, absorbing the vibrations, before racing to a storage compartment and quickly entering the access code. The compartment slid open, revealing a simple blade roughly four feet long and obsidian-black.<p>

Retrieving the blade almost reverently, the drell murmured, "Well, Kira, it seems I may need you after all."

Another series of frantic poundings brought his attention back to the door. He strode over to it and slid it open. Pale and quivering, a human boy stood in front of him, glancing about and nervously fingering a pistol.

"Gerrit! Something's attacking the colony!"

"So I gathered," the drell said, stepping past the boy and surveying his surroundings. A siren blared. Lights flashed. The first vestiges of screams carried over the roofs of the tiny structures from the direction of a glaring fire. "Who is it?"

"I have no idea! It's just creepy things. They're not human!"

"'Creepy things'?"

"Yeah. They're like people but all… dead and… machine."

"Right." Gerrit adjusted his grip on the sword and looked down the street. "Henry, take cover."

Just as the boy ducked behind a prefab, three creatures rounded the corner and charged as soon as they saw Gerrit. They were grotesque mockeries of life, ashen gray skin and mechanical blue eyes devoid of any humanity.

Gerrit stood, waiting, focusing his energy. As soon as the things were close enough, he unleashed a torrent of biotic energy, charging into the midst of the three creatures, immediately disintegrating the leader and sending the other two flying back. One came apart on contact with the ground about two dozen feet in front of Gerrit, but the other, which had been caught with the edge of the blast, quickly regained its feet. It rushed at Gerrit, who swiftly dispatched it with a calculated swing from his sword.

Signaling to Henry with his free hand, Gerrit cautiously approached the corner the three creatures had appeared behind.

"Is the colony overrun?" Gerrit asked as Henry caught up with him.

"I… I think so," Henry mumbled. "What we gonna do, Gerrit?"

"Get to the spaceport. There must be some form of evacuation."

Henry nodded and followed as Gerrit walked briskly down the road, senses alert for any more sign of the creatures. Suddenly, Henry grabbed his arm and he had to fight not to slam the boy against the nearest wall.

"Gerrit! Look at that!"

Gerrit glanced in the direction that Henry was pointing. "Those are ships, Henry. They're fighting."

"How we gonna get past them, Gerrit?"

Gerrit stopped. He hadn't thought of that. Of course an invading force would have combat ships. This colony, though, didn't. Or did it? Gerrit thought about what Terrek had said the previous night: expanding. Expanding where? There were in every colony on the planet, and the Alliance could easily stomp out any basic mercenary fighters. So they must have a ship. A good ship.

"Change of plans, Henry. We're going to visit the Khans."

* * *

><p>The Khan's base of operations was a permanent structure, which meant that is was part of the main city. This was, of course, where the bulk of the fighting was located. Gerrit was able to fight through the creatures they encountered with little resistance, though Henry did have to fend for himself once or twice. That didn't worry Gerrit; the boy might be slow, but he was an excellent shot. Not his first choice for a battlefield companion, but there were worse options.<p>

Gerrit could hear the sounds of heavy fighting coming from ahead of him as he neared the compound. He slowed and crouched behind a small rocky ridge on the edge of the clearing in front of the Khan's base.

A krogan and an asari were making short work of the Khan's guard; the krogan wielding a giant hammer that crackled with bionic energy and the asari alternating biotics and pistol shots. Within moments, the guards were dead except for the captain, who had fled into the city.

"No sudden moves, drell."

He turned to see two women in combat armor, each with a submachine gun pointed at his head. Gerrit raised his hands slowly and deliberately.

"I'm not Khan," he stated.

"And him?" The lead woman spoke, gesturing at Henry.

"Civilian."

"Name?"

"Gerrit Pajon."

"Pajon?" The woman lowered her gun and turned to a salarian standing behind the women. "Is it him?"

After glancing down at a datapad, the salarian nodded. "He does match the file."

"Well then. Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend." She waved off the second woman and stepped forward. "Peras T'maran, of the Pandora Company. This is Emira S'nalla and Demol Kendric, our mechanic and pilot, respectively."

Gerrit shook her hand. "And those two are with you, I assume?"

"Yeah. Our leader, Akira D'naris and her boyfriend, Khel Bandrik."

The salarian, Demol Kendric, glanced sideways at her. "I doubt either of them would appreciate that classification. Especially to a stranger."

Emira shrugged. "Only 'cause it's true."

"Hey! What's keeping you over there?" The leader's voice drifted over the rocks.

"That's our cue. I assume you want a ride?"

Gerrit nodded. Peras grinned. "That's why we're here. Need to get our ship back."

Demol scoffed. "My ship. Which you lost."

"Oh, shove it, egg-head," The mechanic pushed Demol's shoulder companionably. "I'm sure she's fine. And if she's not, she will be when I'm through with her."

The salarian's eye twitched. "How reassuring."

"Come on! We've got husks over here!"

"We're late, ladies." Emira leapt over the crest of the rocks, Gerrit close behind, and sent a wave of biotic energy at the husks advancing on the two combatants by the door.

"Took you long enough," the leader grumbled. Her eyes fell on Gerrit. "Who's this?"

"Gerrit Pajon. The local who's been riling up the Khans. Offered him a way off in return for lending a hand."

"Sounds good. You can fight?"

"Yes. As can my companion, though not as proficiently." Gerrit indicated Henry, who had arrived with Demol and Emira and seemed to be giving them a wide berth.

"That's all right, Demol's just dead weight." Emira shoved the pilot again.

The salarian crossed his arms. "Do you want me to fly the ship? Because last I checked, your flying nearly got us all killed."

"Shut up, both of you," Akira barked, turning to the door. "I need to get this thing open."

A few short moments later, the seven of them stood in front of the opening to the Khan base.

"Right. We need to do this quick. No bathroom breaks, no side trips. Straight to the hanger, then we get into the Anesidora, and we fly the hell out of here."

"And the hanger doors?"

Akira glanced at Gerrit. "Should be open. But if they're not, then I'll deal with it. Ready? Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Thank you to TheZadak and chinas for following.


	3. Episode 1: Huskfall part 3: Anesidora

Episode 1: Huskfall

Gerrit's colony is attacked, and he must work with a company of mercenaries in order to escape.

* * *

><p>Whatever threats the Khans had designed their security around, an angry charging krogan warlord was clearly not one of them. Khel Burrum charged down the corridors, his tech shields absorbing anything thrown at him, his hammer bringing down foes his weight alone could not. All in all, there was little for Gerrit to do, and that made him nervous. He had expected this to be difficult, and even with Pandora Company, it seemed too easy.<p>

"You do know where the hanger is?"

Akira shot him a glance. "Of course. We downloaded schematics before we came here."

As the group approached another intersection of indistinguishable corridors, Burrum paused, looking over his shoulder at Demol.

"Left."

Burrum nodded and charged down the left-hand corridor.

"He is efficient. I'll give him that."

"Okay, hold up." Demol raised one hand, consulting the datapad in his other. "This door leads us to the most direct path, but it also leads through troop quarters."

"Troop quarters?" Emira shifted. "Just how big is this gang?"

"Big enough to have a barracks." Akira gestured at Demol. "Go on."

"Like I said, troop quarters. That means we won't be able to continue our battering ram strategy, but it will be faster."

"Time is of the essence," Akira said, "We've only so long before the Reapers bring this whole complex down."

"R-reapers?" Henry stuttered, glancing wide-eyed around at the group.

Akira's eyes narrowed. "You don't know about that?"

Henry and Gerrit shook their heads.

"Damn. We'll explain later. For now, let's focus on not having you find out firsthand. Demol, is the barracks right here?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Burrum in first, then Gerrit, then me. Peras, you come in once we've cleared and let the others in. Got it? Alright, opening door in three, two..."

The door slid open and Burrum pushed into the room, swinging his hammer at the first thug, who happened to be just inside the doorway. The man crumpled and Bandrik continued forward, allowing enough room for Gerrit to slip through the door behind him. There were roughly twenty thugs in the room, all in varying states of shock at the krogan bellowing in the doorway. While Bandrik drew their attention, Gerrit rolled sideways to flank. The first thug fell to his blade as Bandrik surged into the middle of the room, swinging his hammer in wide arcs. Akira appeared behind him, dropping one thug with a pistol shot and attacking another with some form of biotics Gerrit had never seen before. Gerrit turned his attention back to the fight, ducking under a wild shot and coming back up in the shooter's face, running him through with his blade.

A cry from the corridor outside drew Gerrit's attention. He glanced over to see Emira and Peras firing down the corridor and Demol attempting to drag Henry into the room.

"He's been shot. Not fatal. Can administer medi-gel. Being flanked. Go help."

Gerrit disengaged from the remaining thugs and leapt over Henry and Demol, who was now attempting to apply the medi-gel. Gerrit rolled in front of Peras and Emira and biotically charged down the corridor at the assailants. The man he collided with definitely seemed to be a higher class of filth than what they had been dealing with. He wore combat armor with an insignia Gerrit didn't know and held a high-tech assault rifle. He stumbled back when Gerrit hit him, but didn't fall; in fact, he hardly seemed to notice the blow, immediately bringing his gun to bear on the drell. Gerrit's sword flashed twice, first disarming then disemboweling the man before him. He registered that the shots behind him had stopped, so Peras and Emira had either been killed or gotten to safety. Either way, he now only had to worry about himself.

That might be a problem. Four more troops like the one he had just killed were lined up in staggered formation, limiting both his ability to move and engage. He could hear more behind them. It was time to leave.

Gerrit sent a weak wave of biotic energy at the troopers, barely making them flinch, but it was enough to knock their aim out of line. He turned and fled back to the door, surging most of the way with biotics. He ducked through the door and it slid shut behind him.

"Locked," Akira announced from the door's consol.

Gerrit ignored her, instead kneeling down next to Henry and Demol.

"He is stable. The bullet passed through his upper right torso, missed his lung, so not much damage. I would recommend no strenuous activity, but that seems unlikely."

"Gerrit?" Henry's hand tugged at the drell's sleeve. "'M I gonna die, Gerrit?"

"Of course not. We just need to move more quickly."

Akira walked over to stand next to Gerrit and Henry. "Who were those soldiers? The others didn't get a good look."

"I don't know the organization. I did not recognize the insignia."

"What was it?"

"Orange. Hollow hexagon, compressed. Top removed, single vertical line in place of two other lines."

Akira looked up at the others. "Cerberus."

"That name means nothing to me."

"Seriously?" Peras glanced at him. "They're a human terrorist organization. They brought that Alliance doomsayer back from the dead."

"I have little interest in politics."

"Well, this is about a lot more than politics."

"We have to go." Akira stood by the door opposite the one they had entered. "It won't take them long to hack their own system. Luckily, we're only a short run away from the hanger. Out the door, to the right, and straight on."

"Same as before?" Gerrit glanced at Burrum. It was the first time he had heard the krogan speak.

"No. Peras and Gerrit take rear guard. Here." She tossed the drell a pistol. "You can't always get up close. Emira and Demol, keep an eye on the civi."

Akira and Burrum took up positions by the door. The krogan nodded to the asari and the door slid open. Shots immediately began to spark of the krogan's armor and he ran out, followed closely by Akira. Crounching, Gerrit followed, sending shots down the left-hand passage. Behind him, Peras sent a ball of pulsing blue energy at the troopers, lifting three off their feet.

"Go on!" she called back to the remaining three. Supporting Henry between them, Demol and Emira hurried after the retreating forms of Burrum and Akira. Peras and Gerrit followed, sending potshots at the troopers slowly advancing on them.

At the head of the line, Burrum burst through a door into the hanger.

"Atlas!"

Gerrit turned to see the krogan charging at a mech twice his size. He hit it shoulder first, staggering the machine slightly. He stepped back and hefted his hammer, swinging it horizontally into the mech's left leg. The leg crumpled under the impact, toppling the Atlas over. Burrum then lifted the hammer over his head and brought it smashing down on the mech's cockpit.

So much for that, then.

Akira stood by the door as Peras and Gerrit finally cleared the threshold, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Get to the ship!" she yelled, indicating what appeared to be a freighter. Gerrit ran ahead of Demol and Emira, cutting down two troopers in their way. As he reached the door of the ship, it opened, revealing three more troopers. Not breaking his stride, Gerrit charged his biotics, ramming directly into them. His sword cut into one, and before the others could recover he rolled past them, his blade ending another. As the third turned on him, the drell kicked at his weapon, knocking it from his hands and out the door. The trooper quickly fell to a final cut from Gerrit's blade.

As the last man fell, Demol and Emira arrived with Henry, stepping carefully over the corpses. Gerrit held up a hand as they entered. "There may be more troops hiding here."

"We need to lift off. Once everyone is inside, we can do a sweep."

Gerrit nodded. "Where is the cockpit?"

"Left ahead, on the other side of the common room."

"Let's go."

Gerrit tuned out the sounds of battle still going on outside, listening intently for any sounds within the ship as he led the others to the cockpit. They met no resistance on the way, and as soon as they reached it, Demol slipped into the chair in front of the consol and flicked it on.

"We normally need checks before launch, but we'll have to forgo them this time," Demol commented, powering up the engines. He fiddled with a few more controls, bringing up an exterior camera. Akira and Burrum were still outside, fighting the Khans. Sighing, Demol pressed a button and spoke into the consol. "I know you two are having fun, but we're on a timetable here." Leaning back, he glanced at Gerrit. "Go make sure they get in, would you?"

Gerrit retraced his steps, passing Peras on the way to the airlock. Akira was inside, firing at troops trying to flank Burrum as he backed slowly into the ship.

"Kendrik says we can lift off."

"Great. Burrum, get your krogan ass in here!"

The krogan grunted, turning and running the last few yards into the airlock nearly knocking over Gerrit and Akira as he did so. Akira slammed a fist on the consol, shutting the door, and the three of them retreated into the common room, where Henry and Emira had joined Peras. Akira continued into the cockpit, yelling at the salarian. "Get this crate in the air!"

Gerrit heard Demol grumble, "The Anesidora is not a crate," but nonetheless he felt the ship lurch as it began to rise and turn. Walking in to the cockpit, Gerrit noticed an oversight.

"We forgot about the doors," he observed.

"I said to leave that to me," Akira commented, sliding into the copilot's seat. She brought up a display and tapped a button, firing two shot at the doors and blowing them wide open. "Satisfied?"

Gerrit shrugged. "That works."

"Good. Now get back and strap in."

Gerrit retreated back into the common room, where the others were already strapped in.

"Hey! Gerrit!" Henry waved enthusiastically from his seat—using his left hand, Gerrit noticed. He walked over and took a seat next to the human and hitched up the restraints.

"Did Akira blow up the doors?" Emira grinned over at him. "'Cause it totally sounded like she did."

"Yes, she did."

Emira laughed.

"I assumed she would hack the doors. I take it that this is more frequent?"

"Yeah," sighed Peras. "She does like to make a scene."

"She's just showing off for Burrum." Emira said, nudging the krogan.

He grunted. "It was the best tactical move. Hacking the doors was unnecessary once we saw that they were weak enough to be destroyed by the Anesidora's guns, and it would have been dangerous to try and reach the controls."

Gerrit looked curiously at the krogan, eliciting another laugh from Emira. "Yeah, he does that. Burrum was a great general for some merc group."

Burrum's eyes narrowed at the mechanic. "Obviously not that great."

"Hold tight back there," Akira's voice came over the intercom. "We're leaving atmo."

The ship shuddered violently and several colorful curses could be heard coming from the cockpit.

"Also, Emira, Demol would like you to find out what the hell the Khans did to his ship."

"I'll get on it once were out of atmo," Emira muttered, clenching her teeth as the rocking of the ship continued. Gerrit closed his eyes, slowing his breathing and cutting off the thrashing feelings of the ship.

The rattling suddenly subsided as the ship burst free of the planet's gravity.

"Alright! We should be clear of any more fighting. Go ahead and unbuckle. We'll be at the mass relay in twenty; we're going to the Citadel. Good work, people."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This is the end of Episode one. Episode two will be up whenever I finish it; the next chapter might not be for a couple weeks, but the next few after that should be out as quickly as these were.

Thanks kingby1 for following and everyone else for reading this far!


	4. Episode 1: Huskfall part 4:Kepesh-Yakshi

Episode 1.5: Kepesh-Yakshi

Gerrit gets to know Pandora Company en route to the Citadel.

* * *

><p>The krogan sat at one end of the table, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in response to his opponent's slight smirk. He leaned forward, activating his omni-tool and sending a holographic projection of a frigate directly in the path of her cruiser. Brow furrowed, the asari hesitantly relayed her own instructions to the game board, moving the cruiser to destroy the smaller ship. Completely ignoring the shock that followed his piece's destruction, the krogan moved his own cruiser through the newly-created opening, bypassing the expected broadside of his opponent's ship to end in orbit of the yellow homeworld. Seeing her impending loss, the asari sighed and sent a white flag signal to the game.<p>

Watching the whole exchange with rapt interest was Henry, his white-knuckled fingers gripping the side of the table and his eyes fixed on the bright colors of the holograms. When the brightly-colored explosions signaled the end of the game, he gasped and let go of the table, nearly falling over backwards, and clapped appreciatively.

As Bandrik and Akira started up another round, Gerrit walked up behind Henry, who looked back at him, wide-eyed.

"Will you teach me how to play, Gerrit?"

"I will if I ever learn myself."

"You can have Bandrik teach you," said Akira, moving a frigate into flanking position.

"I'm not the best teacher," Bandrik commented, destroying the frigate with his dreadnaught.

"But you'll have someone else to beat." An ineffective salvo was launched at Bandrik's cruiser.

"You lose well enough for me." Bandrik's cruiser occupied the flanking position Akira had been trying to hold.

"Am I going to have to hose you two off? 'Cause I'm completely willing." Peras grinned as she entered the room.

Bandrik fixed her with a borderline-malicious stare, while Akira just sighed. "You watch too many romance vids, Pera."

"Nah. You just don't understand romance."

"Neither do you. You're too young to have a meaningful relationship."

"Hey! I'm nearly two hundred. I'll be as grey as you in no time."

"Right."

"She's two hundred?" Henry whispered to Gerrit. "She's _old_."

"Not for asari, Henry."

The others didn't seem to notice the comment.

"How are the repairs going?"

"Emira isn't finding the faults that Demol is convinced are there."

"Well, that's normal."

"Yeah. The stick up his ass is bigger than yours. Which is impressive, considering the size of krogan-"

"Enough!" Akira's cheeks flushed slightly darker. Henry's eyes narrowed in confusion, while Gerrit coughed politely into the back of his hand.

Peras looked around innocently. "What?"

"I don't get it." Henry commented to no one in particular.

Akira sighed. "That's probably for the best."

"We going to finish?" Bandrik asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes. If Pera can get her mind out of the gutter."

"Not gunna happen."

"I thought so." Akira turned her attention back to the game. A few moves passed in silence before she spoke again.

"What are you going to do once we get to the Citadel, Gerrit?"

"Find a hospital for Gary." The drell patted the human's shoulder. "His wound hasn't healed as I would have hope."

Akira nodded slowly, maneuvering her dreadnaught into defensive position. "I'd recommend Huerta Memorial. Gotten patched up there once or twice."

"My thanks."

"But what about you?"

Gerrit paused a moment before replying. "I suppose I ought to make a report to the Alliance. About the colony."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I'll go with you, too."

"I would appreciate that."

Akira sighed as her penultimate ship was destroyed. "Listen. Bandrik and I were talking. You're damn good in a fight. We could use you in our line of work."

"You're offering me a job?"

"Yup." Bandrik grunted.

Gerrit rubbed his hand along the underside of his chin. "I shall have to consider it."

"Sure. You can let us know any time before we leave the Citadel. Or, hell, even when we get back. I have a feeling we'll be seeing it a fair amount in the next few weeks. Damn," she cursed as her homeworld erupted in tiny explosions.

Just then, the door opened, admitting a fuming Demol.

"Completely incompetent. Don't know why I ever let her onto my ship. This is your fault, D'naris."

Akira shifted into a more comfortable position. "That's Captain D'naris to you."

Demol crossed his arms. "I think not. It's my ship. I'm captain."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"If Emira's so incompetent, why'd you leave her alone?"

Demol jerked his thumb at the cockpit. "Need to dock soon. I would appreciate it if you kept her from breaking anything." With that, he turned and left.

"We should just have Bandrik do the engineering. See how he'd like that," Peras mumbled after he was gone.

Bandrik grunted. "I'd rather not die in an explosion, thanks."

"I thought krogan were all about that."

"In battle, maybe. Not by accidentally sticking my hand into an eezo core. In either case, I'd prefer it not be for a couple hundred years anyway."

"I should probably check on Emira," Akira said, standing. "Make sure Demol hasn't killed her."

"Would he do that?" Henry's eyes were wide.

"Probably not. But we can never be too sure."

"We'll be ready to dock in fifteen minutes," Demol announced over the speaker.

"Right. Get whatever you need to take ashore and prepare for whatever you're doing there. I don't plan to be staying for more than a day."

"A day? Why? We don't have a job, do we?"

"Not yet. But I think we will shortly."

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><p><strong>AN:** Just a quick update. Episode 2 should be uploaded by early next week. Also, thanks to NaturalBornParagon to admitting Pandora Company into the Massivly Effective Originals community and hello to everyone from that community.


	5. Episode 2: Pandora's Box part 1: Avin

Episode 2: Pandora's Box

Pandora Company is sent to infiltrate a Cerberus facility.

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><p>Peras sat alone in a waiting room outside the office of a council official, idly surfing the extranet while Akira was inside giving a report about the attack on the colony—she couldn't remember it's name—with the drell, Gerrit. They had gone in together after Gerrit had seen his human friend to the hospital. Demol and Emira were again (or still) arguing over the Anesidora, and Bandrik was doing whatever krogan do in their spare time. Having nothing else to do, Peras had decided to trail along after Akira. Apparently, though, she didn't get to sit in on the secret meeting. Peras looked up as Akira left the office with Gerrit close behind. She quickly stood and walked over to meet them. Akira motioned her to follow and started walking toward the elevator.<p>

"We've got an assignment from the Council. We're going to infiltrate a Cerberus facility-"

"Wait. We're drafted? I didn't know that could happen."

"Not exactly drafted. I took a job."

"A job? Against Cerberus? You're crazy."

"You already knew that."

"And you expected us to go along with it?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because you are."

"I think there's a flaw in your-"

"How's your sister, Pera?"

Peras froze midstep. The other two stopped as well. "Fuck you, Ma'am."

"Mm-hm."

Gerrit's eyes flickered between the two, but he remained silent.

"Gerrit's agreed to join us."

"Yeah. He'd be suicidal, too, I expect."

They both ignored the comment. Akira continued. "We're leaving in the morning. Be onboard by seven." Her voice softened. "If you want me to go with you-"

"No. Not after you just used her as leverage."

Akira had the decency to look shamed. "Of course. I'm heading back to the ship, then. Gerrit?"

"I would like to make a call first. I shall meet you there; I remember the way back."

"Fair enough. I'll see you two later." She turned and continued down the hallway.

Peras looked at Gerrit, who seemed to be studiously not returning her gaze. She sighed. "Go on, ask."

His eyes met hers. "It is not my affair. In any case, that was not on my mind."

Peras' eyes narrowed. "Then what was?"

"The destruction of my home. Henry's condition. The call I am about to make."

Oh. Right. He had problems, too. Peras looked away.

A hand lighted on her shoulder. "Pay it no mind. We are all preoccupied." The hand left. "I shall see you in the morning, I expect." She watched him leave before returning the way she had come from.

Half an hour later, she stood in another waiting room. This time, it was at a hospital, though not the same one that Henry was in. This was smaller and more specialized. She walked to the counter and the receptionist smiled sadly at her. "Ah, Miss T'maran. I'm afraid there's been no change. You're welcome to go visit her, of course. She's in the same room as before."

Peras muttered thanks and pushed through the door to the single ward in the hospital. Fourth room on the left. Thirty-eight steps. Thirty-two heartbeats. Twenty-four breaths. Nineteen seconds.

Like always, she paused at the door, wondering if she could bring herself to enter. Like always, she eventually pushed the door open and walked in. Like always, she stood at the foot of the bed and didn't look its occupant in the face. Like always, she wished she hadn't come up with some excuse to come alone.

She was silent for several minutes before she spoke, still not looking at the figure on the bed. "Hey, sis." Her hands toyed with the sheet as she continued to look down. "I'm still not really sure what I'm supposed to do when I come down here. I guess I kind of have to, though. Mom sure won't, and, well…" she swallowed and looked away. "Dad died. I know I've told you that before. She's been dead for almost a year now. She's always been old, but I never really considered…" Another pause. "I kind of feel like I don't have any family left. There's just you." Peras paused. "I thought you might be interested to know that the galaxy's ending. Giant sentient machines that killed the Protheans are coming after us." She bit her lip. "Cerberus is working with them. I bet that doesn't surprise you, does it? You never liked humans. Well, you're only half right. Apparently that human Spectre is going to save us all." She paused and frowned. "No, wait. You wouldn't know about Shepard, would you? Only became a Spectre three years ago." She sighed. "Anyway, Shepard's supposed to save the galaxy. Somehow. Everything's kind of going to hell." She stopped again. "I miss, you, Vin, but I've got to go. Akira wants to save the galaxy, too." She smiled slightly at her sister's unresponsive face. "Don't die while I'm gone, okay? If you can manage it, don't die when I get back, either." She patted one of her sister's hands. "I'll see you when I get back."

She turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind her. The receptionist pretended not to notice as she left the building, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

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><p><strong>AN:** Apologies for lateness. I had to write a narrative for English, which took up time I was hoping to use to write this. On the bright side, that narrative is over on my fictionpress account if you want to read it. It's called "The Death of the Loshad".

This episode should have three more chapters. I would make a promise as to when they'll be done, but I'll probably have a lot of homework for the end of the trimester. Many apologies again.


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